A person who coughs or sneezes will often attempt to cover his or her mouth with a hand or possibly a tissue or handkerchief. At best, this may contain some of the droplets of saliva, mucus and the like that would otherwise be expelled into the surrounding air. While this may limit to some extent the spread of germs, it is obviously not an ideal solution. In fact, the problem may be exacerbated if the person uses a hand and does not immediately wash.
Another problem with using a handkerchief or a paper tissue is that it must be unfolded in order to be placed effectively over the mouth and nose. Sometimes, the reflex to cough or sneeze occurs before the handkerchief or tissue can be unfolded and placed exactly over the mouth and nose.
In times of public concern about the spread of disease, a few people may wear paper particle masks in an attempt to protect themselves. Such masks are awkward to put on and take off and unsightly in wear. The person typically will wear the mask continuously while in public. Further, a particle mask is designed to keep out particulate matter and protect the individual wearing the mask, rather than keep in germs and protect third parties.
WO/2006/119610 published Nov. 16, 2006 discloses a proposal by the present inventor for a personal hygiene device in the form of a mask that is crushable so that it can be accommodated in the pocket or purse and which, when released, springs open to an erected configuration in which it can be placed over the mouth and nose of the wearer.
An object of the present invention is to provide a device that represents an improvement on the device of WO/2006/119610.